A Different Kind of Different
by girlpandagreenlime
Summary: When Vanellope woke up, she could only remember her name. However, as time passes, she learns about new things like carts, racing, and flashes. Vanellope knows that she needs to get a cart of her own so she can ease the burning desire in her code. She also knows that she's willing to do anything to reach this goal. Takes place before the movie.
1. A Flash and a Dream

I was planning on making this a one-shot, but it started getting really long, so I figured I'd split it up into chapters. I hope that you all enjoy this little story. It won't be as long as my other stories, but I'm hoping it will be just as good. But I won't know until people review! So if you read this story, I'm begging you, PLEASE review and tell me what you think. I really value your opinions.

I don't own Wreck-it-Ralph.

Chapter 1: A Flash and a Dream

The second the little raven haired girl opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong with her memory. It was as though someone had locked it up into a chest and thrown away the key forever. She could remember nothing about what had happened before she'd awoken. She didn't even know how much time had passed before then. After reaching up to rub her hazel eyes, she opened them as widely as she could and glanced around to see what should have been familiar surroundings.

The ground was soft and the air smelled of cotton candy. Right behind her was a tall brown mountain in the shape of a bottle of soda, and in front of her there were nothing but gigantic gumdrops and jawbreakers sticking out of the ground. The sound of silence was all around her.

The little girl would have continued to just stand around looking lost and confused had it not been for a loud roaring sound that suddenly ripped through the air far ahead of her. The sudden noise startled her, and before she could do anything else, she felt her body suddenly ripple. She got that tingly feeling one gets when a body part is not moved for a long time and falls asleep. For only a couple of seconds, all she saw was blue and the numbers 1 and 0. Then, just as quickly as the flash had occurred, it ended. It hadn't caused any harm, but when the girl looked around she noticed two indentations in the ground. Wiggly lines inside the indentations told her that they were her boot-prints. Somehow, she had moved from that spot to where she was now standing a couple of feet away. But as far as she knew, her feet hadn't left the ground. She hadn't planned on moving.

The child decided to start walking towards the sound she was hearing. But she'd only gotten a couple of steps in when suddenly she saw the flicker of blue and numbers again. When her eyesight returned, she had once again moved against her will. Now getting a bit concerned, she lifted one foot up and took a step. Nothing happened. She took a second step. Still nothing happened. Gradually, she started to pick up the pace, until she was running. For the longest time, nothing happened and she started to relax. But then, just as she was getting to the top of the hill she'd been trudging up, she saw the electrical blue and the numbers again, and by the time they had vanished again, she was standing at the very top.

The only thing she could really do with this trick she'd somehow developed was marvel over it. Somehow, her code was allowing her to teleport short distances instantaneously. It wasn't something she could control at the moment, but the idea of possibly trying to do so seemed promising. It would be nice to be able to jump from place to place without lifting a toe. But before she delved too deeply in her thoughts, she heard the roaring sound again, and she looked down at what looked to be some sort of track or road. Eyes widening, she watched as a gigantic bowl raced down the road in front of her. After crossing a thick red and white line the bowl screeched to a halt and the watching girl was able to observe more features. Four perfectly round spheres of snow-cone material, the two in the back immense compared to the ones in front, could be seen, and to the girl's surprise, another little girl hopped out of the bowl. She gave it a couple of pats affectionately before turning and noticing the spy. She began to advance, hollering angrily. "Hey, why are you pinning me so hard? Jealous of my righteous threads? Or perhaps my keen cart?"

The questioning should have frightened the little girl, or at the very least startled her. But instead, she gave her response rather quickly, including a rather sharp quip with it that she felt quite proud of. "No. I'm sure I would be jealous of all those things if I wasn't so busy staring at the scoop of multi-colored snow on your head that you call hair. And what's up with the stick? Did you walk into a Popsicle tree or something and get it stuck there?"

Instead of getting insulted or raging some more, the retro girl let out a sharp laugh and came closer, holding up her hand for a high-five. "Nice one!"

Sensing that this girl was no longer angry at her or going to yell, the sharp-tongued girl returned the gesture, and the slap of their palms made a loud, satisfying sound. Once it had died down, the girl with the afro spoke again. "I'm Snowanna Rainbeau. Who are you?"

The response came quickly again, which was surprising to the little raven-haired girl because of how much she wasn't able to remember. "Vanellope. Vanellope von Schweetz."

Now that Vanellope knew this girl's name, she felt more comfortable in asking her burning questions. "So, you call that thing a cart? What is it used for?" she asked, pointing at the bowl, which was still sitting at the bottom of the hill.

"You mean you don't know?" the shocked look on Snowanna's face told Vanellope that she had expected everybody to know what a cart was and what it was used for. "You use it for racing. This is a racing game after all."

_Racing. _For a reason she couldn't explain, the word sent an excited, wonderful shiver through Vanellope's code. It didn't take her long to realize that she wasn't just shivering inwardly. In an instant, her code flashed again, and by the time she was back to normal, she'd learned that Snowanna had seen it happen. Her jaw dropped open, and Vanellope took that as a sign that Snowanna had never seen anybody do that before. Before she could start asking questions, Vanellope tried to give her an explanation, based on what she knew, which was very little. "That's my…flash," she explained, the name coming to her relatively quickly. It made her ability sound cool, like a super-power or something. "Sometimes it allows me to move short distances. It doesn't hurt or last very long. I just feel a quick shiver, and for a couple of seconds, all I see is the color blue and a bunch of numbers. But then it goes away for a while until it decides to come back. I'm not sure how I got it or what specific things can set it off. It's kind of random, and I just discovered it like, ten minutes ago."

Even though the explanation was rushed and there wasn't a lot to it, Snowanna nodded as though she understood perfectly. "Righteous," she murmured, then decided it was best if she changed the subject, which Vanellope was grateful for. She may have been proud to display her new talent, but she was much more interested in the idea of carts and racing at the moment.

So when Snowanna asked if Vanellope wanted to sit in her cart, she almost jumped out of her skin with excitement. Yet another flash coursed through her, but she barely acknowledged it. Instead she cried out, "Sweet mother of monkey milk! Are you serious?"

After receiving a nod of confirmation, Vanellope took off at the speed of light down the hill. Every couple of steps she would flash, making the trip take less time than it normally would have and leading her to conclude that when she got excited or stimulated, it caused the flash to occur. Briefly she wondered what would happen if she got too angry or upset, but she was too thrilled about the idea of sitting in the cart to actually want to continue thinking about it.

When she finally got to the bottom of the hill, she jumped into the cart like a hockey player leaping over the bench. She landed in the padded leather seat with a satisfying 'thump' and a wide upside-down rainbow of a smile on her face. The instant she was seated in the cart, she felt comfortable, as if it was the place she'd been born and raised. Gazing at all the pedals, joysticks, buttons, and the big, beautiful wheel in front of her, she felt as though they were all calling out to her, asking for her to operate them. Asking her to _race._ Both her body and code were burning with intense desire. But she managed to keep herself from listening to her body's instincts, knowing that unfortunately, she had no idea how to race. If anything were to happen to Snowanna's cart, she may lose the very first friend she'd ever made. However, that didn't stop her from knowing that she wanted a cart of her very own so that she could learn.

"This is incredible!" she hollered to Snowanna, who was walking down the hill towards her. When she was close enough to hear better, Vanellope spoke again. Her curious hazel eyes spoke the question on her mind, but just in case Snowanna didn't understand, Vanellope decided to ask it. "How can I get one of these?"

"If you want a cart, you need to get into the bakery," Snowanna answered, pointing off into the distance. Vanellope's eyes followed her finger until they landed on a green building quite far away from where the two were. It was hard to see details, but streams of puffy, colourful smoke were noticeable flying out of smoke stacks.

"Thanks!" Vanellope chirped, hopping out of Snowanna's cart so she could head to the bakery, fully prepared to do whatever it took to get her cart as soon as possible. Now that she had been inside one, she didn't think she could live another second without having the chance to race. It may have seemed a bit obsessive, but Vanellope didn't see it like that. Racing was simply something that she knew she wouldn't be able to live without. She could feel with every digit in her code that she was meant to be a racer.

"Hold it!" Snowanna suddenly ordered.

Surprised, Vanellope paused with her foot in mid-air, ready to be put down. "What?" she asked, turning and flashing as she did so.

"There's an old man called Beard Papa at the gate's entrance," explained Snowanna. "He's really sweet, but he only lets people in if they have one of these." Finishing her sentence, she dug a hand into one of the pockets of her violet-purple jacket. She didn't remove it until she'd found what she'd been searching for: a sheet of paper a light shade of ecru with gold trim and words written in fancy cursive that Vanellope couldn't read.

"A piece of paper?" she questioned, shooting Snowanna a funny look. She had no idea why she would need such a useless thing to enter a bakery of all places.

Snowanna barked out a laugh before explaining herself. "It's not just a piece of paper. It's like a permit or a license. All you've gotta do to get one is head over to the Palace over there." She pointed in another direction, and Vanellope saw another building. This one was white and sparkled like a gem in the programmed sunshine that fell on it. Even from such a far distance, Vanellope could see it was a grand building, perhaps even fancier than the bakery. For a moment as she stared at it, she thought she felt recognition. But as quickly as the feeling had come it vanished as she reminded herself that she'd woken up in a field and the castle had no significance in her life. Yet. Snowanna was still explaining how to get a permit, so Vanellope put her other thoughts out of her head so she could continue listening. She decided that was the most important thing for her to do at that moment. Without instruction, she would have no idea how to get the one thing she really wanted at that moment.

"King Candy'll give you one, you fill it out, he looks it over, and then, if he decides it's safe for you to race, he'll stamp it," Snowanna finished explaining. She hadn't noticed the way Vanellope had looked at the castle.

"King Candy?" Vanellope repeated, a hint of incredulity in her tone. She had never considered that there would be somebody living in the castle, but she supposed it made sense to have royalty in a game with a castle. So she asked what she thought was a very important question. "Is he nice?"

"_Is he nice? _He's got the word 'candy' in his name; of course he's nice!" exclaimed Snowanna, throwing her hands up in the air with excitement. A glimmer of joy appeared in her violet eyes, and the chestnut skin on her cheeks darkened, and Vanellope assumed she was remembering when she'd been given her very own permit to enter the bakery. She started to point out that not all candy was nice and sweet, but stopped herself before the words could come out. She didn't want to anger the first person who had spoken to her.

"He's hasn't rejected anyone from racing so far, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," advised Snowanna, clapping Vanellope on the shoulder in a friendly way. "I wish I could go with you, but I promised Taffyta and Candlehead that I'd have a practice race with them so we can get used to the terrain around here. I'll see you later though! Once you get your cart, we can all have a race together. Good luck!"

The idea that there was many other kids in the game to meet was thrilling, but Vanellope knew it was best to meet them after she'd gotten her cart. That way they'd all have something in common to talk about and she'd be able to take part in their games and races. She thanked Snowanna, and then watched as the diva jumped into her cart and revved it up. The roaring purr of her engine was music to Vanellope's ears, and she shivered and flashed as Snowanna took off across the terrain. The slight breeze that the cart had created caused the hair in Vanellope's ponytail to fly up, and when it settled again, it was messy and her bangs were sticking up slightly. She ran a hand through her hair to get it to settle down again, and then took a deep breath.

The excitement was growing in her, and suddenly she felt like she was going to throw up. She could feel her stomach grumbling, as though telling her to get going, and her heart felt like it was stuck inside of her throat instead of sitting in her chest where it should have been. A bitter taste from her stomach's contents rose into her mouth, but it didn't bother her. Instead it fascinated her that vomit and burp could come together and work in perfect harmony with each other in her excited state.

"It's a vurp!" she proclaimed, proud of her word-creating skills. But she didn't stop to dwell on the idea. Without further ado, she forced her stomach's contents and her heart to return to their proper places, and started running as fast as her feet could carry her in the direction of the building that would change her life forever. There would be time for vurps and thinking up new terms and quips later. Right now she had a mission. She needed to get to the castle, obtain a permit, and build her own cart or die trying.

Besides, she had a feeling that there would be plenty of vurps and quips in her future.


	2. A Turn for the Worse

A.N. As that little crumb-snatcher Vanellope would say, SWEET MOTHER OF MONKEY MILK! Thanks to those of you who have favorited, followed, read, and reviewed so far! I greatly appreciate all of the support, especially the kind words in the reviews. I'm going to respond to the three reviews I got for chapter one, something I've never done on a chapter before. I hope it turns out:

1. Dixie Darlin: I can always count on a review from you! First of all, thanks for saying what you liked! For some reason, I find Vanellope really easy to write about. Maybe it's because I've watched the movie so many times. I just feel like I get a good sense of her character, not to mention the fact that she's SO CUTE, lol! And I'm glad you like that I chose Snowanna to be the first racer she met. I agree that it's sad the friendship doesn't last. But we haven't reached that part yet, so don't get too sad! There's still plenty of excitement to come before that! I hope this next chapter satisfies you with regards to what you think is going to happen with KC.

2. m: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad to see you're enjoying the story so far enough to leave me that comment!

3. Windsett: Thank you as well! I can't actually remember how the idea of permits came to me, but it was something that just stuck, and the ideas that followed gave me enough that I wanted to write about it. I know that Vanellope's life before meeting Ralph is something that's been done before, so I hope I don't bore any of you with my take on it. I'd like to think it's a fresh take, but what do you guys think? I couldn't really picture anywhere specific that Vanellope would start her new life, so on the ground in the middle of nowhere it was! But not so far away that she wouldn't be able to find a race track...Her code is pretty good at leading her to anything related to racing. And I agree, being a flash does sound nicer than being a glitch. Technically, glitches are problems, and truly, who could ever consider that cute little trouble-maker a problem that needed to be gotten rid of? (Other than KC of course.)

Anyway, now that that's finished, I hope you enjoy the second chapter of A Different Kind of Different, and remember, I don't own Wreck-it-Ralph! Also, please review and let me know if you like this story! I don't want to write things you all don't like!

Chapter 2: Turn for the Worse

It took less time than Vanellope had anticipated for her to reach the long, windy road that led up to the white palace that held the keys to the rest of her life. She stared in awe at the thin, spindly towers that stretched to the sky and the humongous arch by the just-as-tall front doors. The entire building gave off the strong scent of white chocolate and granulated sugar, and Vanellope relished it as the wind carried it in her direction. "Sweet mother of monkey milk!" she exclaimed again, her excitement only increasing now that she was so close. Even though she was tired from running the entire way there, she managed to pick up her feet and dash to the front doors. But before she grabbed hold of the round knocker attached to one of the doors, she looked down at her apparel. She was clad in a mint green hoodie, a layered brown skirt, striped leggings in the colors of white, purple, and the same mint green as her sweater, and a pair of clunky black boots. Her hand moved up to run through her hair on its own accord, and she could feel all the random bits and pieces of candy littered in it. Was she really ready to face a king, a man of royalty, looking like this?

"It's not like I have a choice," she finally told herself. "As far as you know, this is all you own, so it'll have to do. Stop acting like a marshmallow and just knock on the door already!"

So before she could stop herself again, she lifted the knocker and struck it against the door three times in a row. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

A couple of minutes passed before the door creaked open, and a man's voice droned out, "Mmmmyes?" But Vanellope couldn't see anybody.

The voice had come from beneath her, so she looked down to find a neon green candy ball with a bored expression plain on his face. He was looking up at her as though he wanted to say, "What do you want? Get on with it," and Vanellope had a feeling that the little ball was a servant to the king, not the king himself.

"I need to see King Candy." The sentence was not a question, it was a statement. Vanellope was in no mood to ask if she could or if that moment was a bad time. She wanted to get her permit as quickly as possible so she could make her cart and just start _racing._ Racing, racing, racing. It was the only thing on her mind. Everything else she thought about ended up coming back to it. It was what her life was revolving around.

The green ball looked at her for a moment, and then motioned for her to enter the castle. She obeyed immediately, and the instant she stepped inside, her breath was taken away.

The first thing she noticed was that the walls were pink. In fact, everything was pink, from the columns holding up the building, to the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Even the space for the throne at the end of the hallway was the color of bubble gum. "Is there a queen or a princess living with this king guy?" Vanellope found herself asking the little green ball.

He turned, giving her a deep frown as he responded. "No. Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

"Well it's just…this is a lot of pink."

The ball's frown deepened even more as he spoke again, his voice still a dull, emotionless drone. "King Candy just happens to like the color. But don't call it pink around him. He prefers the term, 'salmon.'"

That sounded utterly ridiculous to Vanellope, since it was clear in her mind that she was not surrounded by the color of a fish, she was surrounded by a huge amount of feminine pink. But before she could voice her opinion and call the ball something both insulting and funny that she hadn't thought up just yet, the ball spoke once more. "Stay here. I'll get King Candy." Then, he vanished behind a curtain, leaving Vanellope all alone in the hall.

It didn't take long for her to get bored, so she began wandering around, inspecting every inch of her surroundings. Even though it looked like a child had used chewed up pink bubble gum to paint the room, she had to admit, the layout was nice. The most impressive part though, was the place where it looked a throne was supposed to be. She could see the arms of a chair, and the back of one, standing tall and covered in comfortable material. But the legs and the place one would actually set one's butt to sit simply did not exist, and the distance between the two chair arms led Vanellope to think that it looked like a parking spot.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was around, she walked down the shimmery magenta carpet and past the fancy gate that circled the spot she was looking at. She climbed the slight slope up to the top, and then turned around so she was facing the doorway. Letting out a deep sigh, she leaned against the chair back and rested her arms on the chair arms on either side of her. A flash ran through her body, the first in about five minutes, and she giggled a little bit as she felt it happen. She didn't know how to explain it, but for some reason, she felt comfortable standing in this spot. For some strange, unexplainable reason, it felt like…home.

Before she could get too comfy, she heard a loud tune blaring and coming closer at an alarming rate. Not wanting to get caught, she flashed out of the throne space, past the loopy gate, and back where the green ball had left her. Putting on an innocent face, she watched as a door that looked like the top half of an egg flew up and a cart flew out. It was the cart that was creating the tune, and as Vanellope watched, she realized it must have been coming from the three horns sitting one on top of the other at the very front of the cart. It spun around Vanellope a couple of times before backing up the slope and into the throne space. She had been right; the space did act as a parking space. Vanellope kept her eyes trained on it as the driver turned off the engine and leaped up on top of the hood of the royal vehicle. He then leaped down onto the ground and proceeded to walk forward until he was standing at a comfortable distance away from Vanellope.

Vanellope would have been lying if she'd said she'd expected King Candy to look the way he did. She certainly had not expected to be staring at an older balding man with a gigantic perfectly round nose and a ring of grey hair around his head. She hadn't expected him to be wearing a purple tailcoat, a big red bow-tie, and an even bigger, pair of puffy golden pants. She hadn't expected him to have round gumdrops at the end of his shoes that jingled and jangled when he walked. And while she had expected to see him wearing a crown, she hadn't expected to see it sitting so lop-sided on his head.

"Hoo hoo hoo!" King Candy let out an eccentric, high-pitched laugh, not noticing the way Vanellope was staring at him. He grabbed Vanellope's hand and shook it as hard as he could, up and down, until Vanellope was sure that her own arm would fall off. "Why hello there little girl! Have some candy!" He reached into his pocket and practically threw the candy at Vanellope. She managed to catch a couple of pieces, but most of it fell to the floor around her.

"Um…thanks," she responded, not sure what to make of the overly cheery man in front of her who spoke with what she noticed was a definite lisp. Now that she was standing in front of him, she felt herself at a complete loss for words. She wasn't even sure if she should try bowing or showing some sign of respect.

King Candy didn't seem to notice her dilemna. Instead, he continued to speak to her in his hyper way. "I'm sure Sour Bill told you that I'm King Candy. Now who are you?"

"V..Vanellope," Vanellope finally answered, trying not to stutter as she spoke. "Vanellope von Schweetz."

King Candy repeated her name and then jumped up in the air, wiggling his toes as he did so with excitement. "What a lovely name! Just what can I do for you Vanellope?"

Suddenly Vanellope remembered what she'd come there for, the reason she was standing in front of King Candy. "Well, I want to get a permit to go into the bakery so I can make myself a cart and become a racer."

Was it her imagination, or did her statement cause King Candy to freeze for a moment? Had his smile just suddenly flickered, as though it had wanted to change, but he'd forced it to stay in place? Was there something hidden behind those chocolate brown eyes that were staring at her so intently? Vanellope got a sudden feeling that perhaps King Candy was afraid of her. But the idea was quickly dashed away when he let out a laugh, said, "Wonderful!" and pulled out a sheet of paper much like the one Snowanna had showed her from his tailcoat pocket along with a pen.

"I'll have to ask you some questions and get some information before I can give this to you," he warned her, and Vanellope nodded. She knew she couldn't remember a lot, but she would do her best. Perhaps the answers to his questions would simply come to her, the way her name had earlier.

The first question he asked her was what her name was, and she gave it to him. After writing her answer down, King Candy then proceeded to write down her hair and eye color, her height, her weight, and also a date, which she assumed was the date the game had been plugged in, which would be considered her birthday. He then asked her which of the following she considered herself to be: slow and steady, easy going and used to moving at a moderate speed or someone who enjoyed being fast and furious. It took a little bit of thinking before she finally settled with fast and furious. King Candy also asked her if she considered herself to be reckless, to which she sheepishly answered, "Yes." It wasn't something she was necessarily proud of, but she wasn't good at thinking before acting. She tended to react without using her head. All of the thinking came later.

Each question helped Vanellope to remember more about herself, but for the life of her she still couldn't remember anything about her past. The very last thing she could remember was waking up that morning. It was a little bit bothersome, but she figured it must not have been important enough to remember, so she focussed on getting the answers to King Candy's questions, and nothing else.

Finally King Candy looked at Vanellope and said, "Alright, this is the last question Vanellope, and it's the most important one of all. Do you have any disabilities or medical code problems that would make it unsafe for you to drive?"

"Nope!" Vanellope declared proudly, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. She was a hundred percent sure that memory loss wasn't going to impair her driving abilities, and other than that, she was perfectly fine. She didn't need to wear glasses, she wasn't missing any body parts, and as far as she knew, her brain was functioning perfectly. "I'm perfectly healthy!"

Just as she spoke those words, in her excited state, she allowed a flash to quickly fly through her body. The tingling feeling combined with her enthusiasm caused her to giggle. But when her eyesight returned and she saw King Candy again, the look on his face made her stop in mid-laugh.

King Candy's eyes had darkened significantly, and his bushy grey eyebrows had narrowed. The horrible frown on his face made Vanellope shiver, and because she was so startled, she flashed once more.

"What's the matter? I didn't mean to offend you," she exclaimed, puzzlement overwhelming her. She hadn't said anything rude or insulting, or made any sort of bad movements or gestures. As far as she could tell, all she'd done was flashed.

"So, you say you're perfectly healthy," King Candy spoke calmly, but it sounded to Vanellope like a dangerous sort of calm, as though he was holding in all of his bad emotions. And just like that, he snapped. "Well, what do you have to say about THIS?" Fury evident on his face, he gave Vanellope's chest a vicious poke, and at the sudden contact, she stumbled backwards and once again flickered. It was obvious that the flashing was what King Candy was referring to now.

"That's just my flash!" she exclaimed, defence thick in her tone. Her stomach contents started rising up into her esophagus again, and this time the reason behind it was not good. "I don't know exactly how I got it or what it is, but I know enough to say that it's not a disability. And if it turns out to be a code problem, I don't think it's going to affect my driving. If necessary, I'll try to figure out how to control it. But so far it hasn't caused any problems! It's actually kind of cool!"

She would have continued speaking, but King Candy cut her off before she could. "Well, thank you very much for stopping by Vanellope, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to deny your request to get a permit."

Snowanna's words of encouragement echoed in Vanellope's brain, and she couldn't stop herself from protesting. "What? But why?"

"Because, my dear, that is no flash. It is a disability." King Candy stated, the frown never leaving his face.

Vanellope returned the frown, but hers was more out of confusion than anything else. "It is? What, is it pixlexia or something?" Her clever word-creating caused a smirk to start to grow on her face, but she quickly hid it away as King Candy spoke again, his voice dead serious.

"No Vanellope. It is a glitch. _YOU_ are a glitch. And glitches are not allowed to race in _my _game."

_Glitch. _The word came out of his mouth like it was a filthy, old piece of candy, and Vanellope suddenly felt anger beginning to boil inside of her like hot cola. The word seemed to be one that should have been able to be used in casual conversation, but the way King Candy said it, she got the feeling that it had been created to be an insult. And she really did not like the idea of being insulted.

"But that…that's prejudice! You're denying me from racing just because what you call my 'disability'! That's not fair!" she argued, and to make matters worse, she flashed yet again. Flash. It was a _flash._ She refused to change her wording and call it 'glitching.' She would not stoop so low as to call herself a term that was being used in such a derogatory fashion. And she would not give up. She couldn't. Beneath all the anger she was feeling, her desire continued to burn. It was the one thing that was clear in her confused state.

She made it quite clear to King Candy that she was not about to stand down, and he tried to console her. However, as he put up his hands to adjust his bowtie, the lisped words he spoke did a pitiful job. "I'm sorry my dear, but glitches are not meant to exist in a game. Therefore, I have to ban them from doing what they would like."

"No, that's not true! I am meant to be here, and I am meant to race! I can feel it in my code!" Now Vanellope was screaming, her face twisted with her fury. Her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her nails pierced the skin of her palms, drawing blood, but she was too enraged to notice. The only thing she was focussing on was King Candy.

The king took a deep breath before speaking again. His tone now seemed impatient, as if he wanted Vanellope to drop the subject. Little did he know that Vanellope had no intention of doing any such thing."My dear, if we were to take a look at your code right now, I guarantee you that it would simply be a box with sparking snapped wires. Now, you'd better go on home."

He obviously felt like the discussion was over, and turned to walk to his cart so he could leave. Before she could process the thought, Vanellope had grabbed hold of his shoulder and used all of her strength to turn him around so he was again facing her. Then, she used her other hand to grab the front of his shirt so she could pull his face so close to hers that their noses were almost touching. A blue flash ran through her body, and for a moment, she thought she could see a little bit of red in front of her as well, something that hadn't happened before. But then the flashing had stopped, and Vanellope was too angry to think about what she'd seen. Instead, she simply wanted to get her point across.

"You listen to me Captain Crazy-Pants," she hissed, her voice low in her throat. "I did not come all this way just to be denied the one thing I know I was born to do! You'd better give me a permit or I'm gonna make you wish you had!"

"Is that a threat?" The frown was back on King Candy's face, and now he too was shouting at the top of his lungs. "You _dare_ to threaten your king?!"

That was all Vanellope needed to hear in order for her to make the most reckless decision she'd ever made in her life. Pushing King Candy away from her again, she shouted the fateful words that would change her life forever: "You may be a king, but that doesn't mean you're the boss of me! And you can't stop me from racing! I'll get a cart, and I'll race and cross that finish line, even if I have to break into the bakery and do everything by myself!"

"Guards! Seize her!"

At King Candy's command, two donuts wearing sunglasses and a large crowd of Oreo cookies holding spears burst through the front door. The donuts were in the very front as they all started running toward Vanellope, who gasped with fear. Before they could grab her though, she flashed, and suddenly she found herself dangling from one of the chandeliers. "Whoaaa!" she squealed, losing her grip and falling with a THUMP in front of the guards.

"Don't let her touch you! She's a glitch!" King Candy burst out. "If she touches you, she'll transfer her glitching powers to you, and you don't want that!"

The donuts stopped, looked at each other with confusion, then turned to stare at King Candy. "How are we supposed to seize her if we can't touch her?"

"I don't care! Use some rope or chains if you have any. But hurry!" King Candy hollered, his face turning red as a cherry and his eyes bulging out. "Before she gets away!"

But when he tilted his head down to stare at Vanellope, she had vanished. "Where did she go?!" King Candy screeched, panic evident in his tone. "Find her! FIND HER! SHE CAN'T BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY!"

The sound of the front door slamming shut behind them made the guards and the donut policemen turn around. With the little time she had been given, Vanellope had somehow managed to flash behind them all and take off, panting like a dog as she ran. Even though she was no longer inside the castle, she could hear King Candy's cry of frustration as she fled, no longer having any desire to be anywhere near the building.

"Gotta hide, gotta hide, gotta hide!" she told herself as she ran, her head flying from side to side frantically. "Come on! There must be somewhere!" Now that the anger had vanished, sheer terror was taking its place. She could hear motors in the distance, and she knew that the food using those motors was searching for her.

Eventually she passed the place where she'd woken up, and headed in the direction of the mountain she'd seen that was shaped like a bottle of pop. As she neared the mountain, she grew more and more frantic. There really wasn't much for hiding places in the terrain she was tearing through. But she had no plans on giving up. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be seized and taken who-knew-where. There was no telling what King Candy would do to her after the little escapade, and especially not after what she'd told him. But she knew that she could never take her words back. She had meant every syllable.

Just when she was starting to feel despair and hopelessness creeping into her system, she noticed something peculiar by the soda pop bottle mountain. She had no idea why she noticed it, especially in her state of panic, but nevertheless, she moved closer to investigate.

All around the volcano grew lollipops, some of which were quite small, and others which seemed to reach for the sky. All were colourful. All were full of sugar.

Except for the two Vanellope was staring at.

The two sugar-free lollipops were growing at an angle, and their tops were crossing each other, forming what looked like an arch above a section of the wall. Where she stood was a dead end. If the baked goods with the motors saw her, it would be game over. But she had to rest. She couldn't run anymore. Also, her curiuosity about the sugar-free treats in front of her was beginning to grow.

Panting and trying to catch her breath, Vanellope placed a hand on the solid chocolate wall.

And that's when she lost her balance and tumbled through the wall and onto the ground inside the mountain.

A.N. With that, I leave you with a cliffhanger and a plea: PLEASE review, you guys! I'm not sure when Chapter 3 will be up, but I'll try to be speedy-quick. Thanks again a lot you guys! Stay sweet!


	3. New Discoveries

wow! Thanks again to those of you who are sticking with this story! To Dixie Darlin, M, and Windsett, thanks for being my 3 amazing reviewers so far! Hopefully I'll get the opinions of other people later too, but for now, I'm glad to read what you guys have to say! It makes me happy to see that people actually enjoy reading what I post on this site, and I'm glad to hear the things you have to say about my writing and how it's turning out. I'm glad to hear that you think I'm keeping people in character, and I hope I'll be able to keep it that way.

I don't own Wreck It Ralph. But we know that already, don't we? Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 3!

Chapter 3: New Discoveries

"Oof!"

Vanellope's landing had been hard and completely unexpected to say the least. The impact caused a cloud of graham cracker dust to fly up in her face. Coughing and waving her hand in front of her face to clear the air, the little girl got slowly to her feet. Once she was no longer trying to clear her lungs, she tried to look around at her surroundings.

It was dark in the mountain, but not so dark that she couldn't see. Everything was coated with milk chocolate, but there were some patches on the walls and the ground that were bare, revealing a graham cracker base underneath. It looked like she was in the entrance of a tunnel. On both sides of the tunnel were tall, thin columns that looked as if they'd been building up overtime. They reached all the way to the ceiling. Vanellope reasoned that if she continued to walk forward, she would be led to the mountain's base. But that wasn't her biggest issue at the moment. Her biggest issue was how she'd even gotten inside the mountain in the first place.

Getting as close to the wall as she dared, Vanellope gulped. She knew that it wouldn't hurt her. After all, her entire body had just gone through it, and as far as she knew, she'd turned out fine. Perhaps it was nervous excitement, Vanellope didn't know. But for some reason, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. A flash and a shiver ran through her body at the same time.

When she was back to normal, she began chastising herself. "Don't be a diaper baby," she scolded, giving her head a vicious shake to clear it. Then, before she could start doubting herself again, she pressed her hand firmly on the mountain wall.

The solid brown wall suddenly became a patchwork of squares. A bright blue light that looked to be a combination of both turquoise and teal flashed, blinding Vanellope momentarily. The light and the squares faded rather quickly, and when Vanellope was finished blinking away the light spots from her eyes, she let out a high-pitched squeak. Her entire right hand was gone!

Jerking her arm back, Vanellope expected to see a stump at the end, right above where her wrist was. But instead, she found herself staring at her hand again.

"Huh?" After careful inspection, Vanellope saw that there was nothing wrong with her hand at all. She noticed no burns, no scrapes and no mutations. It was still her regular, four-fingered hand.

Her curiosity peaked, she placed her hand against the wall again, in exactly the same place as she had before. Again there was came the flash of glowing blue light and the patchwork, and again her hand disappeared. It was simply no longer sitting against the wall. It was as though it had gone right through and was now on the other side.

Wait…

Very slowly, Vanellope tried to wriggle her fingers on the hand she'd pushed against the wall, and sure enough, she could feel the movement. She let out a sigh of relief and pulled her hand back to the inside of the mountain again. She hadn't lost it at all: it had simply been on the other side of the opening.

The idea of someone walking by and seeing a hand without a body sticking out of a mountain wall with its fingers flailing crazily made Vanellope hoot with laughter. "I wonder how many people actually know about that opening?" she wondered to herself once her laughter had died down. "Maybe I'm the first person to discover this! Maybe I'm like a famous explorer!"

Now she was getting curious again, and she wasn't about to deny herself a chance to look around. So she started meandering down the mountain's tunnel, her eyes darting from left to right, then up and down. She wanted to take in everything about her new surroundings.

The air inside the mountain was warm and humid, not at all what Vanellope would have expected. The heat had caused some of the chocolate on the walls to melt, creating visible streaks and hardened blobs of wall close to the floor. As she got closer and closer to the end of the tunnel, it grew lighter, and she began to notice giant chocolate platforms and ridges. More tall columns popped up, and different types of nuts could be seen inside the chocolate that formed the mountain.

"Wow," Vanellope muttered, sitting on a platform and continuing to gaze around with wonder. It wasn't like she'd ever want to live there, but the mountain would make an excellent hideout. A place she could come if she ever needed to be by herself to think, play, or do anything.

Spying a pecan sticking out of the wall, Vanellope got an idea. Using her fingers to pry it from its spot, she held it like a gigantic pencil. "It'd be kinda cool to own a mountain," she muttered to herself, bringing it closer to the wall. "Now, should I call it 'Vanellope von Schweetz's Mountain?' Or just, 'Vanellope's Mountain?'"

Just as she was about to write her name on the wall to claim the entire structure as her own, a sudden BOOM was heard. The force behind it was enough to shake the ground beneath Vanellope's feet, and she dropped the nut.

"Ah!" she gasped, dropping to her knees and covering her head with her arms, just in case things started falling from the ceiling. "I'm sorry Mountain Gods! Don't kill me! You can own the mountain! It's all yours!"

A few moments later, the ground stopped shaking, and Vanellope uncovered her head and looked around. Nothing was happening. The entire mountain hadn't crumbled to the ground. She was still alive.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she stood up, brushed her hands on her sweater, and then dusted off her skirt.

BOOM! That's when the earth started shaking again.

"Ah!" Vanellope cried out, dropping to the ground again. "Oh come on! I didn't do anything! Geez!"

But that was when she noticed the flash coming from around a gigantic, chocolate structure in front of her. "Airhead," she scolded herself. "There are no such things as Mountain Gods!"

As soon as the earth stopped shaking for a second time, she got up and walked around the structure, finding herself at the mountain's very core. She had been unsure of what she would find, but when she laid her eyes on what was in front of her, that was when she realized that she was inside no mountain.

She was inside a _volcano._

Right in front of her, approximately ten feet away, surrounded by hundreds of stalagmites popping up from the ground, there was an enormous circular lake. Inside that lake was broiling orange-red lava. The sign at the shore indicated that the liquid was actually diet cola.

"Diet Cola Hot Springs," she read once she was in front of the pink wafer cookie sign. "Watch out for falling Mentos…Mentos?" Her eyes lifted to the ceiling, and the sight in front of her made her gasp. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped until her mouth became the opening of a gaping cave.

Directly above the hot springs was an enormous mass of Mentos. They stuck together like a pile of crystal. The white color of them reminded her of diamonds, but Vanellope had the feeling that the entire structure was quite delicate and breakable, unlike a diamond.

Was this what was causing the explosions? Grabbing another nut, she climbed up onto a square ledge and chucked it directly at the stalactites hanging precariously above her. The reckless action caused the nut to directly hit one of the last Mentos attached to the rods. It dislodged easily and Vanellope watched as it tumbled down, landing in the hot springs with a sudden splash. The liquid gurgled and bubbled, and then, almost immediately, a geyser of diet cola shot up, spraying everywhere. Droplets splattered and sizzled as they made contact on the ground. Some even flew over Vanellope's head and landed far from where the explosion had occurred. The ground spasmed quickly, and as Vanellope tried to keep her balance, one of the droplets hit her leg with great force.

Pain coursed through her body, and as she screamed she allowed herself to flash. Luckily, no other drops hit her, but now Vanellope was feeling woozy. Thinking it would be best to sit down, she slowly bent down on the ledge. Her legs dangled off the side and she hung her head, praying she wouldn't throw up.

Once the wooziness had passed, she snuck a peek at the damage the splatter had done to her leg. There was now a hole burnt in her leggings. Cautiously, she poked it, and the pain of contact on her moist skin made her recoil, jerking her finger back. But her finger had been on her leg long enough for her to feel the slight indentation of a hole and the beginning formation of blisters. Luckily the hole wasn't very big, and she didn't think it was a third degree burn. Most likely it was second degree. However, that didn't stop it from hurting.

Using all of her strength, she stood, looking around desperately for anything that could be used as a bandage that wouldn't force her to rip her clothes. If necessary, she would, but at that particular moment, she was hoping not to have to resort to such measures.

Luckily, she spied a green and white striped candy wrapper a couple of feet away. There was also a round angel food cake without a hole in the middle. Very slowly, she made her way over to the cake, taking deep breaths so as not to pass out or puke. Every step she took was agonizing.

"Who knew such a little burn could cause so much pain?" she said to herself, making a note that the next time one of the Mentos fell, she'd be sure to dodge the splatter. She had to admit though; it had been fun and kind of thrilling throwing the nut and watching the explosions.

Once she was sitting on the cake, she rolled off her leggings so she could treat her wound. She was no first aid expert, so the only thing she could think to do with it was treat it with cool water. Unfortunately, there was none around, so she did the only thing she could think to do: she spat on the candy wrapper a couple of times, and then wrapped it around her leg, not tight enough to cut off circulation. She had no idea how long it would take for her leg to heal, but now that she attempted to treat it, she felt a little bit better and much calmer than she'd been before entering the mountain.

Remembering King Candy and his hurtful words made Vanellope's anger flare up, but as she flashed, the pain in her leg also flared up. "I've got to keep calm," she ordered herself, speaking aloud with no fear of being heard. She was feeling pretty confident that nobody else knew how to enter Diet Cola Mountain, which made it the perfect place for her to plan her next move. "That way I'll be able to show him how wrong he is about me."

She knew she had to find a way of sneaking into the bakery. There was no way that Beard Papa or any of King Candy's cops and guards would let her in after her little outburst earlier. But before she could do that, she needed to get more familiar with the factory. Or…she could get the help of somebody who was already familiar with it! Somebody who had already baked her cart…

As soon as her new idea dawned on her, Vanellope pushed herself off of the cake and grabbed her leggings. Momentarily not thinking about her pain, she stumbled a little when it returned with a not-so-friendly reminder in the form of stinging and burning. However, she soon regained her footing and as soon as she had, she began limping as fast as she could to the hidden opening. Despite the discomfort her leg was giving her, a bright grin was now on Vanellope's face and a gleam of hope was growing ever brighter in her eyes. After crossing through the wall, she turned and faced the volcano, giving it a two-fingered salute. She now had the perfect name to dub the place, and it didn't have her name in it. "Adios Diet Cola Mountain. I'll be back." Then she faced toward the rest of the land of Sugar Rush and began limping quickly again, past the gigantic gum drops and jawbreakers, hoping not to run into any of King Candy's men.

She had somebody else that she needed to find and talk to.


	4. Cold Welcoming

Hi everybody! I'm in shock at how much support this story's getting! I'm so glad to hear that people are liking it, and I'm especially excited to see new people reviewing my work! So thank you to all once again. You truly inspire me.

Many of you are saying that I've been keeping characters in character, which means a lot to me. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that with this story, I've been watching little bits and pieces of the actual movie and looking at pictures from the film, mostly so I can describe the scenery and the places that I mention in this story. But it's also been helpful for getting in touch with the characters. Disney did such a spectacular job with this movie and its characters that I'm glad to hear that people think I'm doing those characters justice.

Speaking of Disney and the film, here's the disclaimer yet again! I don't own Wreck-It-Ralph or the characters in this movie. And now that this is over and done with, please enjoy Chapter 4 and remember to review once you've finished reading! That's the best way for you guys to show your support and let me know what you think of what I'm doing. Once again, thank you, and now on with the show!

Chapter 4: Cold Welcoming

The travel wasn't easy with her injured leg, but Vanellope managed to get by. To keep her mind off of her leg, which was slowly swelling and getting harder to move, Vanellope focussed entirely on the sounds around her. Her ears worked in overtime as she tried to detect motors, feeling both worried and excited about what would happen once she heard them. The people with the motors would either be her friends or her enemies, and she desperately hoped that they wouldn't be the second option.

Before she reached the racing track she'd met Snowanna on, Vanellope heard it: the familiar roar that caused her to flash and her code to churn with yearning. Right in front of her was a different road with sides lined with dark brown chocolate sprinkles and scoops of pistachio ice cream. The road twisted and turned off into the distance, and that was where the sounds were coming from. Vanellope decided to keep off the road in case any other carts came ripping down it, but she struggled up the hill beside it until she came to the top. Looking around, she noticed another sign, this one looking much cheaper and not as well made. A sharp triangular piece of peanut brittle was nailed to two candy-cane sticks. Curvy letters in different sizes painted on the sign formed the word, 'JUNKYARD.' Moving over to the sign so she could lean on it for support, Vanellope glanced around to see the land was like. The road led past the side, and then curved around a corner and down into a stretch of bare land surrounded on all sides by high hills and pink and purple rock candy trees. The layout reminded Vanellope of a bowl. And right in the middle of the bowl were the carts.

The first thing she noticed was how many of them there were. They weren't moving, so it was easy for her to count out fourteen. The second thing she noticed was how different they all were. Each cart seemed to have a different theme and looked to be made with different coloured candies and treats that had to do with that theme. The carts all gave off strong scents which mingled together, along with the scent of the gas inside each one that allowed them all to run. All had the same basic shape, but were each so unique that Vanellope had a feeling that they'd been tailor-made to suit each of the racers.

She had completely forgotten to think about the other racers or even look at them once she'd seen the carts. As soon as the thought occurred to her, she turned her attention to them. Each one was unique, just like the carts, and judging by the way they were all laughing and talking to each other as they turned their carts off, they were all good friends. Before going down to meet them, Vanellope started scouring the area for the one she wanted to talk to.

She saw her almost immediately; it was impossible to miss her with all of that hair. Slowly and carefully, she made her way down the hill to the bottom of the bowl, praying that she wouldn't trip and end up tumbling down instead. Her eyes were trained on her friend instead of her feet, and as she moved, she started hollering as loudly as she could. "Snow! Snow! Hey, Snowanna! I need to talk to you!"

Watching, she noticed Snowanna's head turn in her direction at the sound of her name. Their eyes met, but only for a brief moment. The instant Snowanna saw her, her eyes widened, and she turned back around, looking almost uncomfortable. The movement confused Vanellope and made her only want to get there quicker. _"She couldn't possibly have forgotten about me," _she thought in confusion. _"We only just met this morning!"_

"SNOW!" she hollered, much louder than the other times. This time when Snowanna heard her name, Vanellope saw her mumble something to the other racers, who were staring at Vanellope and Snowanna in confusion. It was clear they had no idea what was going on.

After mumbling, Snowanna turned around and made her way to the bottom of the hill, where Vanellope had just arrived. "Hey Afro-Head," Vanellope giggled, rolling her eyes playfully. "Didn't you hear me? I need to talk to you! It's really important!"

"Vanellope!" When Snowanna spoke, her voice was hushed, as though she didn't want the others to hear her. To further suggest that, she shot a glance behind her towards the other racers. Most were still staring at her as though they had no idea what she was doing, though a couple had started talking to each other again, completely oblivious to what was going on.

Snowanna held up her index finger in a way that said, "Just give me a minute," and then turned back to Vanellope. Her eyes fell on the candy-wrapper bandage on Vanellope's leg, which had started to fall down due to the amount of walking she'd done. Vanellope hadn't done a very good job of tying it in Diet Cola Mountain. Both could see redness of the burnt, inflamed skin, and a little section of a clear blister was poking out from underneath the slipping wrapper.

Snowanna let out a gasp at the sight. "What happened to your leg?"

Vanellope brushed away the question with ease. She hadn't walked all that way to talk about her injuries. She had more important matters to discuss. "It doesn't matter. Listen, I need your help. I need you to help me sneak into the bakery."

"What?" Snowanna started at the request, and as she did so, the pitch in her normally level voice took a dramatic increase, causing the word to come out as a shriek. Vanellope jumped at the sudden piercing sound and cried out, "SHHH," desperately. Pressing a finger to her own lips, she shot a glance behind her friend to see if the other racers would do anything. Thankfully though they looked nervous, none of them came close. It almost looked as though their fearful glances were directed straight at Vanellope, but she dismissed the idea and turned all of her attention back to Snowanna. "I know it may sound crazy and drastic to you. But listen, I went to see King Candy like you told me to, and he wouldn't give me a permit to enter!"

Snowanna's gaze dropped to the floor and she started shifting her feet uncomfortably. Vanellope watched her intently, not understanding what was so interesting about Snowanna's fur-trimmed boots that they would make her look at them. She waited for Snowanna to speak, and she was finally rewarded with two words: "I know."

Now it was Vanellope's turn to be shocked. "What?" she gasped out in disbelief. Before she could even think about it, she had flashed, and the entire time, a confused look was growing on her face. The way Snowanna was acting was making her feel nervous as well, and she tried to laugh, but it came out sounding nervous and fake. "How do you—"

But before she could complete her sentence, the roar of another engine appeared out of the blue, and instantly all of the other racers were mumbling to each other, glancing up at the road Vanellope had just come from. Even Snowanna's eyes darted up, and Vanellope followed her gaze, wanting to see what all the fuss was about.

A pink streak ripped down the road and all the way down to the junkyard where everybody was standing. As it performed circles around the racers, it took Vanellope's eyes a couple of minutes to pick out details on the streak. Bit by bit it transformed into what it truly was: a cart. The engine roared like all of the other carts, but there was a purr to the sound as well, and it sent delighted chills down Vanellope's spine. None of the other carts had that quality to them, and it gave her the sense that this was one of the higher quality carts in Sugar Rush.

Finally the cart skidded to a halt and a girl jumped out. The amount of pink the girl and her cart shared made Vanellope think that perhaps Sour Bill had been wrong and this new girl belonged in the castle. When the crowd of racers parted like the Red Sea to make way for her to approach and Vanellope noticed an obvious gleam of superiority in the girl's blue eyes, the feelings strengthened, and Vanellope's chills increased, though for some reason they were more out of nervousness than delight now.

The platinum blonde girl couldn't see Vanellope from behind Snowanna's form, but she walked through the mass of racers in their direction. The way she strutted displayed total confidence, and many of the others gave her nods of recognition as she passed. She met eye contact with most of them, but only made actual physical contact with one of them, giving a high-five with a white-gloved hand to a green-haired girl with a candle on top of her head. Once she made it to the front of the crowd the girl pulled a lollipop out of her mouth and twirled it with her fingers as she spoke, her voice dripping with pure snobbish attitude. "I thought I told you guys to wait for me."

Apologies from the other racers began being mumbled immediately, but the girl rolled her eyes as if to say she really didn't care what they said to her and stood with most of her weight placed on one of her legs, making her look as though she was leaning to one side. Her empty hand made its way to her waist and stayed there casually as she spoke next. "So, what's going on?"

Snowanna turned so she could face the new girl out of respect, and by doing so, gave the girl a perfect view of Vanellope. When the girl's eyes fell on Vanellope, they narrowed instantaneously into a look of disdain. "Well, well, well," she spoke next, drawing out her words and putting as much emphasis on them as she could. Her arms moved from their original positions and folded across her chest in a territorial fashion. "Look who it is. Here to give us a little light show, _glitch_?"

Her words startled Vanellope for a number of reasons, and her sudden intense emotions caused a flash to occur, which made the girl in front of her start to laugh in a mocking fashion. Soon after she started, some of the other racers joined in, looking more uncomfortable than she did.

Why was this girl speaking to her in such a cold tone? The air she was giving off seemed to emit the words, _"You're beneath me,"_ and Vanellope had no idea why the girl would think such a thing, considering they'd only just met. "Who is this?" she finally managed to choke out to Snowanna, hoping that her friend could answer the questions running in her mind. "How does she know about my flash? Did you tell them?" A sudden thought occurred to her, and she voiced it as well, the fear causing her voice to crack unwillingly. "Did you tell _everybody_?" She had no idea why the idea of everybody knowing about the thing she was so proud to have made her so uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the way the new girl was talking about it. Perhaps it was because she was referring to it as a glitch.

"No!" Snowanna exclaimed, but before she could go on, the new girl interrupted her, flicking her lollipop at Vanellope as she did so. "My name's Taffyta glitch, and don't you forget it."

"Why are you calling me that?" Vanellope protested, the hurt she was beginning to feel pouring out of her words. "My name is Vanellope, Vanellope von Schweetz! And why don't you like my flashing?"

After hearing the word 'flash,' Taffyta let out a sharp, "Ha!" and rolled her eyes again. "It's funny how innocent you're acting. Listen _Vanellope, _after you visited King Candy, he held a meeting with all of us. He told us all about your little 'flashing' problem, and how you're not allowed to race because of it. He said it was dangerous and that we're supposed to stay away from you."

The way Taffyta spoke Vanellope's name and the word 'flashing' made it sound as though she was only using them to humour Vanellope, but she didn't care. She was too busy taking in what else Taffyta had said. It was all so much that it was almost overwhelming.

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air and shooting a desperate look at Snowanna. "You're not going to believe those lies, are you Afro-Head? You know I don't have a glitch, I have a flash! And it's not dangerous; you've seen it with your own eyes! Tell them!"

Snowanna winced, keeping her eyes plastered to the ground ashamedly. She kept her mouth shut, and for a long while, Vanellope thought she wasn't going to do anything. But then she lifted her gaze ever-so-slightly and spoke in a mumbled tone that made her sound as though she was the one that was being betrayed. "King Candy says that the slightest touch can cause you to give it to us. You never told me it was dangerous Vanellope."

"But it's not!" Vanellope cried out defensively, unable to believe what she was hearing with her own ears. "Do you have cotton-candy and earwax stuffed in your ears? Didn't you hear me? I just told you I'm not dangerous! Here, I'll prove it to you!"

She extended an arm, ready to place her hand on Snowanna's shoulder. But before she could get that close, Snowanna's eyes widened, and she backed up quickly until she was behind Taffyta. Frowning slightly, Vanellope began to advance, but she was suddenly stopped when something flew at her, striking her in the cheek. "Ow!"

Another gumball stone flew at her, this time hitting her shoulder, and that one was followed by a stream of tiny gumballs flying towards her. Each racer had picked up a handful and was chucking them without mercy, though it was clear who had been the one to start the ambush. It was Taffyta, who was now screaming, "Don't you touch her, Glitch!"

Tears threatened to well up in Vanellope's eyes, but she desperately blinked them away as her arms flew up in a desperate attempt to shield her face and front. As she felt herself getting pelted, she cried out, "Why don't you believe me Snowanna? I thought you were my friend!"

Thankfully, Snowanna was the only racer not throwing pebbles at Vanellope, but she said nothing in response to Vanellope's painful cry, instead choosing to gaze down at the ground again and ignore her. So Taffyta spoke for her. "Look, King Candy says you're not allowed to race, and a person who's not a racer is no friend of ours. Right guys?"

To Vanellope's horror, Taffyta's words were received with an abundance of cries of, "Yeah!" and "That's right!" Taffyta's smile turned even smugger with all of the support she was receiving, and with that support backing her up, she spat out four final words. "So get lost, _glitch._"

The stream of pebbles and insulting cries continued relentlessly, and it was only when the part of her leg with the burn on it got struck that Vanellope gave up her attempt to get help from Snowanna or any of the other racers. Turning her back on all of them, she spat out, "Dumb cavities!" and limped up the hill as fast as she could. Because the slope was so steep, she slipped down multiple times. Sometimes she landed on her knees, causing the pain in her one leg to flare up, but she never quit going and she never cried out or shed a tear. Pebbles continued to rain down on her, and by the time she was at the top of the hill, safe from the flying projectiles, she was a muddy, bruised mess. Not even bothering to clean herself up or rest, her gaze dropped on an abundance of round chocolate balls on the hill in front of her, but only for a moment. She didn't even consider chucking them down the hill at her attackers. She would not stoop to that level. Instead she took off again, this time in the direction of the bakery. A fierce scowl of determination and anger had planted itself on her face when she'd started climbing, and she made no effort to remove it now that the first part of her challenge was complete. The pebbles landing on her skin had stung, but they hadn't stung as much as Snowanna's betrayal. It was unbelievable how willing she and all of the other racers were to act like teacher's pets and obey King Candy instead of trying to be her friend and help her. All because of a flash. The other racers hadn't even tried to give her a chance.

With great difficulty, Vanellope tried to shove her feelings of anger and betrayal to the back of her mind. She wanted to use them to fuel her later actions, but she could tell that doing so would result in an unclear head, and she needed to keep her head as clear as it could be in order to go through with her plans. So as she limped, she tried to build up her falling confidence instead of her hatred. Unfortunately, she couldn't get rid of all her fury and desire for vengeance.

"I'll show them," she vowed, speaking her words out loud, but quietly so only she could hear. The last thing she wanted was for them to be carried away by the wind and to the ears of her enemies. "I'll be the best racer this game has ever seen. I'll be so good those warty windbags won't even know what hit them. They'll be on their knobbly knees _begging_ for mercy. They'll realize there's nothing wrong with being a flash."

Every couple of steps she flashed, and every time it ended, she was two steps ahead of where she normally would have been. But her footsteps never faltered, and the speed of her limp never slowed. Though she hadn't even had one full day with her uncontrolled flash, already she was used to it, and she didn't plan on letting it slow her down by even a second. She knew exactly where she was going, and she knew exactly what she was about to do.

She was going to get into the bakery, even if it meant going in alone.


	5. The Fight for the Flash

This is probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written in my life, so I hope you enjoy it. Here's a little word of warning though: it starts out happy, but at the end, prepare for maybe some tears. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review. Something weird happened with the previous chapter and didn't allow it to come up to the top of the updated list of Wreck it Ralph stories, if that makes sense to you guys. But anyway, hopefully that won't happen with this chapter. Once again, please enjoy Chapter 5!

I don't own Wreck it Ralph. Now on with the show!

Chapter 5: The Fight for the Flash

The bakery was going to be such a crucial part of Vanellope's life that she remembered exactly where she'd seen it that morning and never strayed from that path. The fact that the building was tall enough to be seen for miles around helped her stay straight as well. She kept her eyes on the building at all time. It's green walls and puffs of multi-colored smoke pouring out of the smoke stacks seemed to be calling to her. "Come to us," they whispered, entrancing her with their bright colors and promises of a better future. Vanellope had no problem with obeying; she had no reason to doubt that by getting a cart her life would be changed for the better. "It most certainly couldn't make it worse," she thought to herself. "And really, my day's been crummy enough already. It doesn't need to be worse."

Finally the moment arrived: Vanellope made it to the bakery. She could see it standing tall above her, and after craning her neck to gaze up in awe, she turned her attention to figuring out how to get inside.

She soon got her answer. Approximately five feet away, she could see a little gingerbread hut. A bright red cherry rested on the roof, and the words, "KART BAKERY" were painted on the front in pink. The candy-cane traffic gate beside the hut was enough to make Vanellope realize that the hut was actually a toll booth of sorts. And inside, she could vaguely see the outline of a person.

"Toilet crepes!" she cursed, ducking behind a mound of land to avoid being seen. Her breathing rate increased, resulting in what looked and sounded like panting. Vanellope's face blanched, and she waited, sure that any moment now, someone would come from around the mound, find her, and take her away. She would have run away, but she didn't have the strength. She was tired from all of the walking she'd done, and the amount of stress she'd put on her burnt leg was making it achy and sore again.

A moment passed, and soon that turned into minutes of absolutely nothing happening. Confused, Vanellope snuck a peek around the mound. Yes, there was definitely somebody in the booth. But he or she wasn't doing anything. In fact, the form looked completely still. The only movement was coming from little blobs that were floating around in the air above him or her.

Vanellope sensed that she was safe, but to end the confusion, she crept up to the booth to see what was going on, lying low until she was right by the structure. Stretching up on her tip-toes, she peeked inside, only to find that the figure, whom she assumed was Beard Papa was sound asleep! The little blobs flying around his head were actually Z's! His feet were propped up on the table his computers were set up on, and to make the whole scenario even funnier, he was snoring!

Biting back a snort of laughter, Vanellope gave Beard Papa a mocking wave goodbye, knowing well that he wouldn't see it. Then she crept around the front of the toll booth, and dashed underneath the toll gate, being small enough that she didn't even need to duck. Then, the humour giving her a boost of energy, she dashed down the road towards the bakery.

When she finally arrived at the door that would bring her inside, she was delighted to see that above a little sign that said, "Baking in progress when light is ON!" the light mentioned was not glowing. That meant nobody was inside, which meant she was safe to work alone, without any interruptions. Excited, she turned her attention to the door. But as soon as she saw it, her grin fell from her face and was replaced with an annoyed scowl. "Oh, _that's_ mature."

It was a nice enough door, with a solid gold doorknob and lock, which thankfully was open. But in the very middle of the door, big enough that it was impossible to notice, was a picture. It was undoubtedly Vanellope's face, as it had her signature ponytail with the candy pieces stuck inside. But the way it had been painted made her look like some sort of goblin or demon. Her skin was a peppermint green, her irises were a combination of pink and red, and her lips were twisted in some kind of demented smile. Her thick, bushy eyebrows had been painted in slanted directions, making her eyes look angry and mean. The entire thing was painted inside a circle, with a large pink line slashed through it. Underneath, in the same pink colour, were the words, "NO GLITCHES."

Vanellope's eyes narrowed a little bit more, but then she relaxed her face, reaching for the doorknob and opening the door as if she hadn't even seen the message. "If they're going to make pictures like that, one would think they would try to make them accurate. They didn't even get my nose right."

The bakery was nothing like she'd expected it to be when she first walked in. For one thing, it was dark. For another thing, it was very small. The circular room she entered was surrounded on all sides by curtains instead of walls. In the very center, lying on the floor and giving off the only light, was a big, red button. Spying it, Vanellope hobbled towards it and climbed on top.

An electronic chime rang through the air and instantly the room brightened as though a switch had been activated. Suddenly Vanellope could see what was on the curtains. All around her, the words, "SELECT YOUR KART" shone, each letter a different color of the rainbow. Underneath each of the phrases was a different color square, and as Vanellope inspected each one, she realized they were all of the different styles of cart she could choose to make. "Cool!" She carefully inspected each one before half limping and half running towards the square that displayed a cart in the shape of an ice-cream cone. Another electronic sound was heard when she touched the button, and instantly afterwards, the curtain it was stuck on was drawn up and Vanellope saw the REAL bakery.

It was ENORMOUS! As more lights were switched on, Vanellope felt her jaw drop to the ground at the strange machines in front of her, and as she headed towards the first one, she heard an animated voice cry out, "Welcome to the bakery! Let's bake a cart!"

She started out walking slowly, but soon after the first two sentences, the voice cried out, "You have one minute to win it!"

"Huh?" Her heart beginning to race, Vanellope glanced around, and her eyes happened to land on a digital clock. Sure enough, she could see 1:00 as clear as day on the timer.

"Oh man," she muttered, but just as she said that, the automatic voice cried out, "Go!" and she squealed, dropping her leggings to the floor and trying to pick up the pace as she reached the first machine.

Two tubes fell down towards a wheel with a large arrow almost like a clock hand attached in the center. On one side of the arrow was the word 'YUM,' whereas on the other side, the word, 'YUCK' was displayed. There was a bowl and a garbage can by each side of the wheel, coordinating with the painted words. In front of the whole contraption was a steering wheel.

"What am I supposed to do?" Vanellope wondered, but just as she finished thinking the words, the animated voice was answering the question. "Mixing! Put the ingredients in the bowl and throw away the trash!" Immediately afterwards, an assortment of stuff began pouring out of the tubes, bouncing off the wheel, and landing in the can and bowl.

"Yikes!" Grabbing the wheel, Vanellope began turning it rapidly from side to side. But because she was inexperienced with both the game and with how to use a steering wheel, things became mixed up very quickly. She saw cartons of eggs, bags of flour, and milk jugs pouring into the garbage can. On the other side, random things like fire hydrants, actual garbage like fish bones and old cans, and even underwear were spilling into the mixing bowl. She got one or two correct things in both containers, but for the most part, she didn't feel all that successful. But she pushed on, feeling like she couldn't give up. There was undoubtedly more to come.

Sure enough, eventually things stopped coming out of the tubes, and the bowl was pushed along a conveyor belt. Vanellope heard the words, "Batter up!" and watched as two beaters came down from the ceiling and mixed the ingredients in the bowl into a gooey batter. The batter was then poured sloppily into a baking tray and slid into a gigantic oven.

"Baking!" the voice declared next. "Pump up the heat and hold the perfect temperature!"

Limping as fast as she could, Vanellope came to a large pump that reminded her of something one would use on tires. Climbing carefully on top of it so as not to bump or scrape her leg, she then tried bouncing up and down on it, keeping a close eye on the oven. Off to the side, she could see a pressure gauge shaped like a thermometer. At the bottom she could read, "Too Cold," and at the top, she could read, "Too Hot." It didn't take a genius to figure out that she needed to reach the middle, where the words spelled out, "Just Right!"

Wishing she had her full strength in both legs, Vanellope bounced up and down, watching as the heat in the oven went up and down over and over again. This was the part in the game that was going to give her the most trouble, she could feel it.

Just when she thought maybe she was getting close, a buzzer sounded, and the male's voice cried out, "Uh oh! Out of time! Try again!" Then, everything shut down, including the lights.

Groaning in frustration, Vanellope climbed off of the pump and headed back to the curtained area. "Maybe it'll be easier if I try a different model," she thought to herself. So instead of choosing the same one again, this time she selected the model inside the green square. Again, everything lit up, and the programmed voice began his speel all over again. This time, Vanellope didn't really listen. She already knew what she had to do. And this time, she again ran out of time.

So on it went. Vanellope would select a cart style and dash over to the mixing station, where she somewhat improved each time, but not enough to say she was really good at the job. It was always good enough to be brought to the oven though, and that was always where Vanellope got stuck and ran out of time. It almost made her regret causing the explosion in Diet Cola Mountain.

What felt to her like hours passed, and though she got tired and frustrated and the pain in her leg became almost unbearable, she didn't stop going back and forth. Vanellope quickly lost count of how many times she repeated the actions, but she could feel she was getting closer to passing the obstacle in her path.

After making it to the oven yet again, she practically leapt on top of the pump and began jumping and stomping as hard as she could, desperately praying that it would go down and _stay _down. "Come on, come on!" she found herself crying out loud. From all of the frustration and exertion, flashing began to occur, which made her start to panic. "No! Not now!" But thankfully, the flashing did nothing to affect her performance.

In the future, if she were to look back on what happened next, Vanellope still wouldn't be able to explain what happened next, and she would never experience it again. A flash occurred throughout her body, and once again, Vanellope lost her ability to see anything in front of her except for the blue and the numbers. She could hear the crackling, warped sounds of her body being deconstructed and feel the pins-and-needles sensation. But it all lasted too long. Normally when she flashed, it only lasted two or three seconds. This time, the sensation continued for ten complete seconds before it ended.

"Huh?" Feeling frazzled and unable to think clearly, Vanellope glanced down at her feet and started. "What?" Hazel eyes widening, her head jerked up, her gaze resting on the thermometer. If her eyes had bulged out anymore, they could have popped right out of her skull.

The pump was bent under her feet at just the right amount to have the red color inside the thermometer filling up exactly half of the instrument. The top of the color rested directly on the line where it was supposed to be. A dinging sound like a bell was made, and Vanellope knew that she had done it. She had passed the second challenge.

"YES!" she cheered, leaping off of the pump recklessly, not even caring when pain shot up her burnt leg as she landed hard on her feet. She was too busy watching as the frame of her cart came out of the oven and headed towards the final stage on a conveyor belt. It was the decorating stage.

Having only fifteen seconds left to get used to this section, Vanellope dashed over to what looked like an enormous gun or cannon set several feet away from the conveyor belt. Above the moving belt were large glass tubes filled with candy to be used for wheels, icing, and different kinds of candy for decorations, specifically in that order. A swirled pink and purple target sat on each tube with a crown in the very middle. Quickly setting to work, Vanellope began firing for the gun. To make each shot accurate, she pictured the crowns on the targets were King Candy's face and aimed specifically for them, setting off the gun with as much power as she could give it. Four hard white pellets that smelled like mints flew out at a tube filled with black Oreo cookies to cause four beautiful wheels to come spilling out. Then Vanellope fired repeatedly at the icing tube filled with an icing that was the same color as her hoodie. Tonnes of the gooey substance oozed out, covering the entire cart structure, but Vanellope didn't care. "The more icing the better!" she proclaimed. Once she was satisfied with the thick coating, she hit random targets, watching as her cart was showered with an assortment of yummy treats, just like her hair. At first when she worked she tried jumping up and down, but that was too painful, so she settled for wiggling around like a gummy worm. She felt hyper, but she knew it wasn't just because of the sugar particles that were forever floating around in Sugar Rush's atmosphere. It was also because she was almost finished making a cart that could be forever known as hers'.

Finally the cart vanished into a tiny garage, where Vanellope couldn't see what was happening. She ignored the announcer when he said that time was up, but the next words he spoke she paid extra careful attention to. "Congragulations, you did it, and here's your cart!"

This was it. The moment she'd been waiting for. It came too quickly for her to prepare for, so all Vanellope could do was watch as the garage door opened, and in a jumble of candy and sprinkles, down a ramp slid the thing she'd worked so hard to get. Her very own cart. It was the most beautiful thing Vanellope had ever seen.

Shrieking with delight, she raced towards it, running all around her masterpiece to inspect it from every angle. Everything was perfect about it, from the randomness of where the decorations had been placed to the white Mento steering wheel that sat in front of the seat. The polished sour cherries that acted as her headlights beamed at her, and the entire thing smelled of mint and vanilla. There was even a strange rectangular piece in the back that Vanellope didn't know what to call made of hard white mint that was painted black on the top.

It was wonderful. It was magical. It was _perfect. _Except for one small detail.

"It needs a name," Vanellope declared to herself, dashing to a nearby workbench to grab a tube of black icing. It took a couple of minutes of name-creating for her to finally come up with the perfect one. It was something short, but something that would forever tie this cart to her. "The Flash." Fully satisfied and proud with her choice, Vanellope printed it in fancy cursive on the top of her kart's hood. "There. Now to learn how to drive this baby!"

But before she could leap inside and fire it up, a large sheet metal garage door with another bad painting of Vanellope's face on it flew up, revealing an entire army behind it. Large, thick gingerbread men wearing policemen outfits and holding dangerous looking clubs stood with the two donuts she'd seen earlier. And in front of them all, with a scowl on his face, was King Candy himself. He raced through the door, and his finger flew in Vanellope's direction as he cried out, "There she is!" When he saw the cart she'd successfully managed to bake, his face paled, and he started to quiver slightly. Vanellope didn't know why she didn't start moving immediately, but she found herself watching as he regained his composure, pointed at her again, and hollered, "SEIZE HER!" with more power and anger in his voice than Vanellope had ever heard. It was almost as though he was acting so angry because he wanted to hide some fear he had regarding her.

Vanellope had no idea what to do. She didn't want to leave her cart there in the bakery, but she had no idea how to drive it, and no time to learn. She tried giving it a shove from behind, but quickly gave up, as it was too big and heavy, and again, she had no time.

She reacted one second too slow, and that one second gave the donut police enough time to throw a lasso made of red liquorice around her body. It settled there, and Vanellope began struggling to escape almost instantaneously. But it was wrapped around her body too tightly, so instead of throwing it off, she did the next best thing. In one swift motion, she bent her head down and gave the rope one vicious bite. It immediately fell apart, startling the policemen and King Candy. That gave Vanellope just enough time to move, so she did what she wanted to do the least: she left her masterpiece of a cart sitting there in the bakery and took off towards the door she'd entered through, her hand swooping down to scoop up her leggings from off the floor as she passed them.

Thankfully King Candy hadn't positioned guards in front of the other door, so Vanellope managed to get out. There was no way she'd be able to get away by limping, so she ran as hard as she could, panic, fear, and recklessness controlling her actions. She wasn't moving as quickly as she normally would have been able to, but her flashing helped keep her two steps ahead of the swarm behind her. Her leg screamed at her as she ran, but at that moment she really didn't care. She had no intention of slowing.

Vanellope had no idea where to run to. The first place she considered was Diet Cola Mountain, but she quickly threw away the idea. The guards and policemen were close enough behind her that they would be able to see her dash through the secret opening if she went that way, and that was something she wanted to _keep_ secret. So she headed in the opposite direction, eventually finding herself in a forest made up of candy canes.

The pink ground beneath her feet tossed up clouds of pink dust wherever her feet fell, and Vanellope was forced to slow down just a little so she could avoid the pools of taffy around her. The last thing she wanted was to get stuck. That would ultimately lead to her capture.

Suddenly another idea came to her. Using all of her strength, she bent her knees and sprung up, arms extended high above her head. When she reached the maximum height of her jump, her hands wrapped around a candy cane branch, and she scrambled to get on top. Then, once she was fully on the branch, she moved to get to the next highest branch. This was done multiple times before she got half-way up the tree.

Looking down below her, the cops were swarmed around the tree, looking up at her as though expecting her to jump down again. Wanting to do no such thing, Vanellope started jumping from tree branch to tree branch, still trying to get away. She paid close attention to the ground below her, not just to see where the policemen were at all times. She also wanted to make sure that the trees she threw herself into were not surrounded by taffy, just in case she was to fall.

Being so high above the ground made it more difficult for the policemen to see her, and soon Vanellope gained a little bit more distance from them. The stress slowly began to slip away, and soon she found herself wishing she could whoop and holler with joy as she flew through the trees. Occasionally she would find herself flashing on a branch or halfway through the air, but she always landed safely on another branch. Though the jumping and landing started out leaving her wobbling and struggling to stay on top when she landed, gradually she grew more comfortable with it.

She finally got close to the end of the forest and began running out of trees. Vanellope planned to jump to one last tree branch, and then jump down to the ground again. So she bent down again, focussed very hard on the pink and white double-striped branch she wanted to land on, and then launched herself towards it. The jump was successful, and she landed safely on the other branch, letting out a soft, but triumphant, "Yes!" as she did so. She planned on taking a quick break to catch her breath before beginning the descent to the ground.

But then the tree branch disappeared from underneath her feet.

A second too late she squealed and tried to grab the branch above her. But she was already falling to the ground, with nothing but tree branches to slow her fall. Each branch she crashed into broke off of the tree, and though she tried to stop herself, it simply was not in the cards for her. Screaming, grunting, and receiving even more bruises and scrapes, she tumbled to the ground with a loud, "Oof!"

"There she is!" she heard one of the donut policemen cry out. Her panic returned, and she jumped up to grab one of the remaining branches on the tree she'd just fallen from. But the double striped branch vanished just as her fingers grazed the bark, and she landed on the dirt again. "Note to self," she muttered as she picked herself up and began tearing out of the forest. "Double stripes break."

Finally out of the forest, Vanellope frantically jerked her head around, trying to find somewhere she could go. Nowhere she looked seemed as though it could provide the level of security and protection she needed until her gaze fell on a tunnel.

Right in front of her was a glittery rainbow road that stretched beneath a goodbye sign in the shape of an arch, and then up a very steep hill. At the very top, she could see a tunnel. She didn't know where it led to, or how safe it was, but at that moment, Vanellope didn't care. That was where she wanted to go.

This hill was easier to climb than the one in the junkyard had been, as the ground was solid and unable to slip beneath her feet. With the army right behind her again, Vanellope climbed and climbed, praying that she would reach the top before any of them caught up with her.

Then finally, the miracle! She reached the top and could see the dark tunnel ahead of her. Vanellope still had no idea where it led to, but she knew that she would be safe if she could get there. So without a moment's hesitation, she ran towards the entrance.

And right into what felt like a wall.

The hard smack made her entire body scream, and as she was thrown back, Vanellope felt her blood run cold. What was happening? Shaking herself, she ran towards it again. Again she was thrown back by an invisible force, but this time she noticed the wall contouring and bending along with her movements. All around where she touched it flashed a vicious blue and white glowing light. It looked like if she was trying to walk through plastic, but felt as though she was walking into a cement wall.

"No!" she screamed, beating on the wall with her fists and watching as every punch created the glowing white light. "No, this can't be happening! Let me out! Please, let me out!" She felt like somebody was playing a cruel, sick joke on her. Her body flickered and flashed with code as she kicked and punched, charged up on her distraught nature. She was so close to safety, and yet so far away. It was a fight she couldn't win, but still she fought. She needed to be safe.

Just as she was about to lay another round of punches and kicks on the wall, she heard someone order, "Freeze!" Her throat felt like it was closing in on her as she turned to find herself surrounded. There was no where to go. Even if she managed to flash, they were too close. They would have her in a matter of seconds. The fight was over, and Vanellope had lost.

Feeling weak, sore, and finally, hopeless, she hung her head and tried not to cry. But she could feel the tears from her helplessness beginning to seep out of the corners of her eyes, and for the first time, she let them fall willingly. But she cried silently, not allowing herself to give the policemen the joy of watching her sob. There was no begging, and no pleading. She would show them she could be strong, even as a loser.

A familiar song began playing in front of her, and before Vanellope could remember where she'd heard it before, she got her answer. The army parted on both sides to allow a white cart with three horns, a crown emblem, and a flag flying on the back to drive to the front of the crowd. And in that cart was King Candy, along with Sour Bill hidden behind the royal.

King Candy didn't say a word as he stopped his cart and slipped out, closing the door beside him. He didn't speak as he approached Vanellope, eyeing her disdainfully as she kept her eyes glued to the ground beneath her feet. When she finally did get the strength to look at his face, she saw him looking at her as though he wanted to say, "Didn't you realize that you can never win?" Her throat continued to close in on her, and she struggled to swallow the forming lump, looking down yet again. She didn't want to see him looking at her any longer.

"Sour Bill, remind me to thank that Taffyta girl for tipping me off that the glitch was heading to the bakery," she heard the king command, and hearing Taffyta's name made her clench her fists in anger. So that was how they'd all known she was in the bakery. She'd been sold out by a rat.

Anger began seeping its way back inside of her, and Vanellope got the courage to lift her eyes up ever so slightly to see what King Candy was going to do. He was still staring at her, taking in her dirty, injured body, and unfortunately, his eyes happened to meet hers. Vanellope glared at him silently, mutely challenging him. He now knew that she had been serious when she'd made her threat towards him.

But instead of looking intimidated by her hatred-filled glare, King Candy actually cracked a smile at her, as though he found her funny for some sick reason. Still smiling, he turned to the two donuts and motioned as if he wanted them to do something.

The blast from the taser came unexpectedly and left Vanellope unconscious for a span of time. She didn't know the length of it, but when she came to again, she found herself still surrounded by the army. They were in a large circle around her, but they were all no longer by the tunnel. Instead, they were back inside the bakery.

Confused and looking around, Vanellope tried to stand up, but the sound of something rattling startled her and she found herself unable to do so. Looking down at herself, she discovered her entire body was wrapped in solid metal chains, including one around her waist. All of the chains tied her to a chair, and the terrifying sight made her flash. She thought flashing would allow her to escape like it had so many times before. But the chains never left her, and that didn't leave her feeling panicked. Instead she felt pure, genuine terror. The entire situation seemed ominous and sinister.

Just as she was thinking this, her eyes caught sight of something green in front of her. It was her cart! It looked just as it had when she'd first built it. It would have lifted her spirits had King Candy not been standing right beside it, casually leaning with one hand on the hood.

"Get your filthy paws off of my cart," she snarled, leaning forward and bearing her teeth at King Candy like some sort of animal. That cart was her baby, the most precious, perfect thing in her life, and she refused to let it get tainted by the touch of the horrible king.

But King Candy ignored her, instead pressing down harder, leaving a handprint imbedded in the icing and messing up the handwritten name on top. "It is a rather impressive cart, considering it was made by a glitch," he commented, once again ignoring her mangled cry as she watched him deface her cart. "But see, that's the problem with it. It was made by a glitch. And I already told you Vanellope, that glitches are not allowed to race. But you chose to disobey me. And as your king, I think it only fair that you be punished for disobeying my rules and I."

A chill ran down Vanellope's spine, and she got the horrible feeling that she was going to get more than just a light smack on the wrist as her punishment. But she kept her lips locked tightly shut, refusing to beg and plead. She could get through anything he did to her, and she was prepared to face anything he threw her way.

King Candy looked at the guards surrounding Vanellope and pointed to her cart with one hand, and something behind him. Looking up, Vanellope recognized it as the oven from the baking stage of building that she'd had such a difficult time with. Then, to her horror, she heard him give two words as a command:

"Burn it."

"What? No!" Vanellope screamed, unable to keep her mouth shut any longer. She couldn't handle him doing anything to her precious cart, the one she'd worked so hard to build. She had poured all of her heart, soul, and courage into building The Flash, and she would not watch all of that get destroyed. But even as she screamed and fought to break lose of the chains that kept her tied to the chair, she was forced to watch as everybody ignored her and set to work.

A group of policemen pushed the cart onto the conveyor belt and another guard pressed a button to get the conveyor belt moving. The cart slid down the conveyor belt and up into the oven, which stood looming above Vanellope as though it was taunting her. "No! No!" she continued to scream. But she was suddenly silenced when one of the policemen donuts came up to her, ordered, "Quiet you!" and smacked her across the face with his club.

Vanellope gasped as her head swung hard to one side, and for a moment, she saw stars. But she quickly shook them away and watched as King Candy ordered, "Duncan! Leave her. I'll take care of her." The coldness behind his words left Vanellope in her horrified state yet again.

The policeman obeyed, and King Candy approached Vanellope as the policemen continued getting the cart ready for its incineration. His eyes were on her, so he could see every tear that she was now allowing to streak her flushed pink cheeks. He was close enough that he could hear her whispered plea. "Please. Don't do this. Please."

But to her dismay, the king simply shook his head at her. "I warned you," he said, without a hint of guilt in his tone. Then, he turned around, looked at the policemen, and gave them one wordless nod. The policemen all nodded, and then, without a moment's hesitation, threw a gigantic jawbreaker on top of the game's pump. The weight of the candy caused the pump handle to fall down and stay down permanently, keeping the oven on maximum heat.

"NOOO!" Vanellope screamed, watching as the thermometer sprang to the Too High mark and the oven flashed with bright orange light. Soon flames began appearing, licking at her gorgeous creation and soon swallowing it whole. And still Vanellope continued to scream, the tears now pouring relentlessly down her cheeks. She didn't care if she was begging and pleading. She was willing to do anything to save her first cart. But it didn't matter what she did. No one was listening to her.

Screaming and choking on sobs, Vanellope finally turned her head and shut her eyes, wishing she could plug her ears to block out the sound of the flames devouring her cart. She only had her head like that for a moment before she felt it being wrenched back in the forward direction and her eyelids peeled up. The tight grip never lessened, and as she was forced to watch what was in front of her, she heard King Candy's cool voice in her ear, making her wish she could block out all sound all the more. "I told you that you needed to be punished."

Hearing his voice so close to her made her start screaming all over again even louder than before and her fear turned into hysteria. "NO, PLEASE, NO! I'LL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE, STOP IT, STOP IT!" she shrieked, but it was too late to stop what was happening. Nobody heard the words anyway, as right at that moment the gas tank and engine inside the cart's structure blew up in a giant fireball. It was too late to stop the flames from turning her beautiful masterpiece into an ugly charred black mess. There would be no way to repair it; it was gone forever.

Everybody stood watching the fire continue to rage, and time seemed to go agonizingly slowly for Vanellope, whose screaming never ceased. She just wanted it to be over, she wanted it to stop, but it just kept going. And as her cart slowly died, Vanellope slowly died on the inside. She felt herself wishing she could be in the oven with her cart, for without a cart and without being able to race, she felt she had no purpose in life.

Finally King Candy gave another nod to the guards and they removed the jawbreaker. The fire stopped blazing, and the torment was over. But Vanellope's heart would never be the same. She felt as if a huge hole had been ripped in her code, and she felt a pain even greater then the second degree burn on her leg or the bruise from being hit with the club. King Candy's grip on her head disappeared, and she was allowed to turn her head. She no longer tried to fight and release herself. Instead, she sunk down in the chair, panting heavily and sobbing, though no more screams made their way past her lips. She made no effort to look in the direction of the oven again, not wanting to see the ashes that had once been her cart.

"Put her in the fungeon," she heard King Candy order, and for once, she made no effort to fight as the guards grabbed her chained up chair and pushed her away. She just continued to cry, wishing she could erase the horrific image that had been forever burned into her mind.

And for once, instead of plotting and planning what she would do next, she allowed herself to think, _"It's over. It's all over_."

A.N. Gosh...what have I done guys? Like I said, I'm sorry it's so sad. But I hope you liked this chapter. Please remember to review if you'd like to let me know what you think. I appreciate all feedback except for flames. I hope I haven't hurt your hearts too badly...Until next time, stay sweet and try not to cry! Things will get better eventually. :D Thanks again guys!


	6. Choice to Rebel

A.N. Hi guys! I'm back! I apologize for the lengthy wait. I wanted to take some time off, but then this story began beckoning to me. I didn't really want to end this story, but I feel like there isn't very much more I could go into. So this is the concluding chapter. I really hope all of my readers have liked this, because I know for sure that I liked writing it. In fact, this is probably one of my favorite pieces that I've put on this site. So without further ado, I invite you to read, review, follow, favorite, and above all, enjoy this. Oh, and please remember, I DO NOT OWN WRECK IT RALPH! Thank you! Have a good day!

If King Candy thought that there was anything in any way, shape, or form fun about the dungeon he'd locked Vanellope up in, she seriously thought there was something wrong with his brain.

The only thing that she might consider sweet about her location was the sugar cube she was sitting on in the middle of the circular cell, and even that had its downsides. For one thing, it was incredibly hard and created a pain in her backside. There was no clock on the wall, so she couldn't tell how long she'd been down there, but from the way the pain in her backside had gone to a dull throbbing and her muscles were beginning to stiffen up from lack of use, she felt it had been hours. But even if the round lock around her waist that was chained to all the walls around her hadn't been there, she doubted she would have tried to get up. She felt like she wanted to fall on the floor and never get up again. Instead of squirming around in a desperate effort to get comfortable, she was staring blankly down at the floor. She refused to gaze up because she didn't want to see the paintings on the walls. They had all been made to look sad, but she felt that the clowns and circus animals were looking down at her tauntingly, the words in their little speech bubbles written to mock her.

Her eyes begged to be closed, and she blinked rapidly to somewhat comfort them, but she refused to give in and close her eyes fully. Every time she did so, she could vividly remember what had happened in the bakery. It was as though it was still going on; she could see the flames eating up her cart, she could hear her own tormented screams and the uncaring blaze, and she could feel King Candy's iron grip on her head and eyelids, forcing her to watch the result of her resistance.

The tears sliding silently down her cheeks were unstoppable. To be fair though, she hadn't really tried, and she honestly had no desire to. She considered them part of her mourning process.

The thing that really discouraged her was that everything bad that had happened to her was the result of something else good that had happened. It was as though she was forever being punished instead of rewarded. How could she be strong and fight for what her code was telling her to believe if that was the case?

She suddenly heard the sounds of locks being opened and the squeal of hinges that needed oiling, but didn't take her gaze off of the floor. _"It's probably just one of the cops coming to bring me some food,"_ she thought to herself. _"They may keep me in here unable to do anything, but at least they keep me fed. At least I'm alive."_

So she ignored the sound of the footsteps walking down the dark tunnel in front of her, planning to refuse acknowledging whoever it was that was coming.

"Hoo hoo! Are we having fun yet Glitch?"

That voice. It was the one voice Vanellope had not been expecting to hear, and the one she _really_ didn't want to hear. Her entire body tensed up, and she made no motion to make it seem like she'd heard it. She couldn't smell anything that didn't smell like the fungeon, so she got the feeling the person in front of her hadn't come to bring her food. She hoped he just planned on gloating for a little while and then getting bored and leaving.

King Candy walked forward so he was so close that Vanellope could see his shoes. "Oh, that's right; you don't go by that name. You call yourself a Flash."

Vanellope's body stiffened up even more. Her body and sight turned blue from disbelief. It was the first time that King Candy had actually called her a Flash. But instead of being happy about it, she found she hated him even more for it. She had given up calling what she could do flashing, as every time she heard or thought that word it reminded her of her destroyed first cart and made her feel worse. Keeping her eyes trained on the floor, she tried to tune out the monster in front of her. His words began to turn into a babble of nonsense, but the instant he began calling her a glitch again, she found his words impossible to ignore. Even though she felt hopeless, she still hated the term and refused to call herself a glitch. She could still feel that King Candy and the other racers were wrong about her.

"I bet you wish you could leave, don't you?" King Candy continued speaking as if he hadn't noticed that Vanellope wasn't looking at him. "You gave me quite a run for my money, you know. I was _almost_ concerned that you were going to get away with what you'd done."

Suddenly Vanellope felt a nervous lump forming inside her throat. She had thought she'd be able to handle the king's gloating, but the shame building up inside of her told her otherwise. "Get out," she barely managed to mutter under her breath, still staring only at the floor.

But now it was King Candy that was acting as if he hadn't heard her. "But see, the reason I wasn't concerned is because I wasn't about to allow myself to lose to a glitch. I don't take kindly to losing. I _always_ win."

His threatening tone suddenly turned from dark and sinister to light and taunting. "It's a shame you'll never know what it feels like to win," he sighed, placing his hand on her shoulder and gripping it so tightly that she could feel his nails digging into her skin. "How does it feel to know that you will always be a loser, Glitch?"

Vanellope knew that he was baiting her, intentionally trying to make her snap, but she couldn't stop herself from mumbling, "Get out," again. This time it was the tiniest bit louder but again, she was ignored.

"I bet you thought I was going to change my mind about you when I saw you with that precious cart," he continued, wallowing in Vanellope's discomfort and his own pride. "You probably thought that if you somehow managed to learn how to drive, it would change our opinion of you. But you were wrong Vanellope. You will always be a pesky little glitch that causes trouble and problems for everybody."

That was when King Candy got what he'd been looking for: a reaction. _"I SAID GET OUT!" _Vanellope suddenly screamed. Her shrill words echoed around the small cell and rang in her eardrums, and she finally jerked her head up and glared at him with wet eyes filled with all the hatred and pain that the day had allowed her to build up. Her entire face was now soaked. As her head jerked up, she tried to jerk her body back and out of King Candy's grip. As she did so, her entire body shuddered and she felt the symptoms of what she used to call a flash. She still saw blue, but like the last time she'd flashed by King Candy, she saw little pixels of red as well. But by the time she was back to normal and successfully wrenched free from King Candy's grip, it was all gone. Luckily her sweater protected her skin from getting scratched and bloody, but the sensation of his fingernails being pushed down her arm made it sting.

As she brought her opposite hand up to rub it gently, King Candy sneered, obviously not bothered by her outburst. "Oh, I heard you, Glitch. But you're not the ruler of this game; I am. That means _you_ have to listen to _me_, which is something you don't seem very good at doing."

Vanellope _knew _she wasn't good at listening to him, but that was because she chose not to. It was a conscious decision she made, and before her cart had been incinerated, she hadn't regretted it. Now she wasn't so sure what she wanted to do in the future. If she didn't listen to him, she could continue to fight against him and try to get into a race so she could do what she felt in her code she was meant to do, with the risk of getting caught and punished again. If she did listen to him, she would be safe, but she would live her life unhappily, never getting the chance to reach her potential. Was she willing to give up her fight? She couldn't live safe from his wrath and strive to become a racer. She had to decide what she was more willing to give up: her security and safety, or her dream.

"I don't understand," she finally gasped out, needing time to think everything through, but knowing King Candy would not give it to her. "If I can't bake a cart, I can't race, and I can't leave the game, then what's my purpose?"

She watched as King Candy paused at her words, and immediately she knew, from that pause, what he was about to say. Just as he started to open his mouth, she interrupted him, not wanting to hear the words. "Oh no. Don't you _dare_ say I don't have a purpose in this game! Don't you _DARE_!"

"Vanellope, glitches are mistakes that programmers make that are not dealt with and are forgotten about. They are not meant to exist, and therefore, they have no purpose."

"No, it's not true! I'm a racer; I can feel it in my code!" In the end it all came down to those two final sentences, and as she spoke them, Vanellope felt a sudden spark inside. She wasn't going to give up and listen to anybody who believed she wasn't meant to do anything. There were a lot of things that she could deny, but her code was not one of them. The idea that the intricate combination of letters and numbers that made her who she was wasn't supposed to exist was inconceivable. She wasn't a mistake; she was unique. She didn't just enjoy the idea of racing; it really was a part of her that she couldn't get rid of. She could not deny that it was built inside of her. All the times she'd quivered with excitement and felt truly alive and full of purpose had been when she'd been thinking about getting the chance to partake in the ritual. That couldn't be a coincidence or a mistake. And reminding herself that she wasn't a mistake helped build Vanellope up just enough to feel good about herself again. Her life wouldn't be safe, but at least it would be a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

But King Candy did not share her feelings. His face darkened and his eyes sparked up like lightning strikes. His shouted words came out in a boom like thunder and the combination turned him into a thunderstorm of rage. "I told you that you are a glitch, and _that's all you'll ever be_!"

In that moment, as he raised his fists in rage, Vanellope saw her method of escape and it gave her another pinch of confidence, even though what she planned to do was incredibly dangerous. Hanging around the king's neck as the pendant on a candy necklace hidden underneath his bow tie, was a single shiny golden key.

In the seconds that followed, everything that happened occurred so quickly that if anybody had watched, they probably would have missed some of the events. King Candy brought down his fists, and as soon as they were away from his face, Vanellope lunged forward. Seeing the key had cleared her head and rejuvenated her muscles, and she stretched out one arm to grab the key's chain. As soon as she had it in a firm grip, she pulled so hard that even she became slightly amazed by her strength. King Candy was pulled down in a bending position, and the candy necklace broke, scattering assorted hard candies on the floor. But because the key was tied to the chain, it stayed firmly in Vanellope's grip. She then kicked the vulnerable king, sending him backwards. Not expecting the attack, King Candy's feet skidded and slipped on the mess and he ended up flying backwards a considerable distance from Vanellope. Finally he fell backwards and hit his head, which allowed Vanellope to stick the key into the lock and open the padlock. King Candy eventually managed to sit up, but the seconds it took him were the ones that counted. By the time he got to his feet again Vanellope was giving him a curtsy laced with as much taunting as his words to her had been and crowing, "Sayonara King _Cavity_!" As Vanellope disappeared in a flicker of blue, she left behind the sounds of the now empty chains clattering to the ground, screaming of freedom, and King Candy's insane roar of, "GLITCH!" It really was unnecessary. He was too late.

When Vanellope rematerialized, she was back in the junkyard and luckily, the other racers were no longer around. Though her glitching hadn't used up much energy, she found herself panting and feeling winded. There was no way that anybody would come here to chase after her. Nobody, not even Vanellope, had known that she would end up where she was. So she was safe. For now.

Thinking those words, she suddenly paused, taking a moment to let them sink in. She was safe. Her chuckles of disbelief began slowly, but very quickly she was whooping, hollering, and laughing as she jumped and glitched around in celebration. Her dance made her look insane, but it was a different kind of insanity from what King Candy had just shown. This was an insane kind of joy. She was safe, and that was a wonderful miracle.

She thought she would be able to keep on dancing forever, but the exhaustion that eventually overtook her proved her wrong. She bent down and started to pant again, slowly trying to get her breath back so she could start again. As she waited, she glanced around the junkyard and as she did so, her gaze fell on something nearby. Straightening up, she walked slowly up to the unmoving object, which turned out to be a trash can. It seemed fitting, considering where Vanellope was, so if it hadn't been for what she saw when she peeked inside, she absolutely wouldn't have continued being interested in it.

The ashes of what had once promised possibilities sat in unattractive piles at the bottom of the can. Black and grey stood out in the worst way in the cheery game that was made up of bright colors everywhere. Though the burning had stopped and there was no smoke, its scent burned in Vanellope's nose as strongly as it had when she'd witnessed the execution.

Her throat seemed to close up, and she forced herself to swallow the invisible lump inside it as she reached down and scooped up a handful of ash. It fell through her fingers and back into the trash can as though her hand was a sieve and she watched it silently. This told her what she should have already known: The Flash was not fixable.

Silently she stood staring down into the trash can, but then suddenly she lifted her head. The sombre expression on her face slipped away, and a blank look took its place. It was the sort of look that told others that you'd magically been given a thought that you never saw coming. It took a couple of minutes for her to read it through her mind and register it, and finally once that was complete, a smile crept up her face. It stayed there as she picked up the trash can and began walking away with it.

She knew what she had to do to finish her mourning and move on…

"…So I know we never actually got to race together, but just by looking at you, I knew you would be an incredible kart."

Alone and back in Diet Cola Mountain, Vanellope stood gazing down at her handiwork. It had taken a lot of time, but she'd successfully managed to dig a rectangular hole in the ground with her bare hands, which she'd then buried The Flash's remains in. At the head of the mound that served as a grave was a jawbreaker. _The Flash: A Great Kart Sacrificed for the Rebellion_ had been painstakingly carved into it, turning it into a tombstone.

"But you were taken away from me. And the truth is, I can't follow the orders of somebody who wants to take away what makes me happy. I considered it after you were burned, and I was at my lowest, but now I realize that while it is a safe decision, it's not one that would help me feel good about myself." After this realization, Vanellope took a deep breath in and out, trying to sound brave and confident. What she was saying wasn't easy, (the way she was rubbing her hands was proof enough of that) but in her head she kept reminding herself that it was all for the better.

"So I'm going to keep trying to race. Not right away; I need to try to turn this place into a more liveable environment, give my leg some time to heal, and see what kinds of security measures King Candy adds to the bakery and the tracks. But I'm not going to give up. I can't. I know that life is gonna be lonely, and sometimes I'm going to want to give up but it's all worth it. I need to be able to race."

The inside of her chest seemed to warm up, as if her code was agreeing with her, and Vanellope felt lighter than before. Even her burnt leg suddenly felt considerably better. She knew that everything that happened to her from here on out was only going to make her skin thicker and herself stronger. She would learn how to stand and fight on her own.

"So in conclusion, wish me luck Flash. I'll sure miss you." Vanellope took one step back and lifted her arm to give a soldier's salute to the fallen martyr and her only true companion. As if on cue, some Mentos broke apart from the stalactite structures above the scene and fell into the hot springs, producing tall explosions. This time the broiling droplets from the geysers avoided Vanellope and she was able to stay where she was and observe the glorious sight. Then, with the show and funeral concluded, she dropped her arm and turned around, ready to set to work and thinking of the many rewards that she would hopefully soon be reaping.

As for receiving the opposite and being punished, so long as she stayed strong and kept one step ahead of King Candy and his crew of goons, she figured that wouldn't be a problem.

End


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